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Catherine Thompson

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Catherine Thompson is a senior editor for Talking Points Memo in New York City. She came to the site in 2013 and reported on national affairs. Previously, she worked as a research assistant to investigative reporter Wayne Barrett. She can be reached at catherine@talkingpointsmemo.com.

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RedState editor Erick Erickson took advantage of the deadly terror attack on satirical French newspaper Charlie Hebdo Wednesday to slam American gay activists he blamed for the dismissal of Atlanta's fire chief.

French police on Thursday asked people not to spread rumors or unverified information as they hunted for two at-large suspects in Wednesday's deadly terror attack on the Paris offices of satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo.

A staffer for satirical French newspaper Charlie Hebdo said that masked attackers threatened her to gain access to its offices as they launched their attack Wednesday and claimed to belong to Al-Qaeda.

The world looked on in horror Wednesday as three gunmen carried out out a deadly attack on the Paris offices of satirical French newspaper Charlie Hebdo.

At least 12 people were killed in the attack, including its editor, a cartoonist and two police officers. One of the police officers had been assigned to guard the deceased editor Stephane Charbonnier, also known as Charb, after he received threats.

The Catholic church, and French and world politicians were some of the publication's favorite punching bags. It also frequently aimed its satire at Islam, and its cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad in particular caused trouble for Charlie Hebdo and its staff. The Associated Press reported that al-Qaeda published a threat to Charb in its magazine in 2013.

About 7.5 percent of France's population as of 2010 was Muslim, according to Pew. Depictions of the Prophet Muhammad are against Islamic law, and Charlie Hebdo angered that community over the last decade as it repeatedly turned to Muhammad to denounce terrorists in its cartoons.

Here are some of the keys to understanding Charlie Hebdo's place in French journalism and its history as a lightning rod for Muslims.